Common use of CORRECTIVE ACTION AND PERSONNEL FILES Clause in Contracts

CORRECTIVE ACTION AND PERSONNEL FILES. Section 19.1. No employee shall be disciplined except for just cause. Section 19.2. It is recognized by the parties that the City may prescribe regulations for the custody, use, and preservation of the records, papers, books, documents, and property pertaining to the City. Every member shall be allowed to review his or her personnel file at any reasonable time during regular business hours upon request in the presence of the Fire Chief or designee. If any member is involved in a grievance regarding matters in his or her personnel file which may be material, the Union representative will be granted access to the member's personnel file at reasonable times where such access is authorized, in advance, by the employee member in the presence of the Fire Chief or designee. The employee may make copies of all documents in his or her personnel file. Should any member have reason to believe that there are inaccuracies in documents in his or her personnel file, the member shall have the right to submit a written statement detailing his or her objection(s) to the materials in question. Any such statement shall be attached to the objectionable material. This does not prohibit any rights under the grievance procedure. Information in an employee's personnel file shall be disclosed in accordance with State and Federal law. Certain records shall not be disclosed: A. Medical records; B. Adoption, probation and parole proceedings; C. Information about O.R.C. 3107.42(A), regarding releases and proceedings of adopted persons; D. Trial preparation records; E. Confidential law enforcement investigatory records; F. Records, the release of which is prohibited by state or federal law. G. Incident reports relevant to employee files and injury reports. H. Any other records pursuant to law. Section 19.3. No document which does not include as a part of its normal distribution a copy to the employee, or which does not originate with the employee, shall be placed in the personnel file unless the employee is first provided a copy. Anonymous material shall never be placed in the employee's personnel file. Section 19.4. A written performance evaluation shall be made of each employee at least once in every calendar year. The employee shall receive a copy of the evaluation in its final form. Evaluations can be grieved only under two (2) conditions: 1) the evaluation did not occur at least once in a year; and 2) the evaluation was arbitrary. Recognizing that "Employee Performance Evaluations" should be factual, informative and constructive in nature, the City and the Union agree that the following guidelines will be followed: Upon completion of the evaluation form, the person rating will arrange for a conference with the person rated to: A. Specifically explain, discuss and comment upon each section of the evaluation form. B. Answer questions pertinent to the evaluation. C. Elicit comments and questions from the person being rated. D. Give constructive comments as to how to improve in specific areas. Each section of the evaluation having been rated less than satisfactory shall be documented. Every effort will be exerted by the rater to be professional, unbiased, and informative in his or her rating. The employee being rated shall view the evaluation as a factual, informative key to the efficiency of his or her performance with the Fire Department of Chillicothe. It is fully expected that the rating will serve to cause improvement in the future. The purpose of the performance evaluation shall only be used to inform the employee of their job performance. The performance evaluation shall not be used for discipline purposes. Section 19.5. The Employee's signature on any performance evaluation shall be viewed by the parties only as a representation that he or she reviewed the evaluation; it shall not be viewed as a representation that he or she concurred in any or all of the data contained therein. The employee shall always be the last person to sign his or her evaluation, and he or she shall receive a copy of the evaluation in its final form when he or she signs it. Section 19.6. Performance evaluations for firefighters shall be made annually by three (3) separate individuals of higher rank than the employee including his or her immediate supervisor, who are sufficiently familiar with the employee's performance to accurately perform such evaluation. Section 19.7. The Employer will administer a system of progressive discipline based on its assessment of the circumstances as follows: A. A warning is a written statement to an employee that certain behavior or job performance is unacceptable or unsatisfactory and if continued would subject him or her to further discipline. There may be instances where a greater level of discipline will occur without any written warning. B. A reprimand is a written statement to an employee outlining his or her unacceptable or unsatisfactory behavior or job performance and, noting that as a matter of discipline, his or her activity is being documented for future Employer evaluations of him. C. A suspension is a written statement to an employee outlining his or her unacceptable or unsatisfactory behavior or job performance and ordering him or her to suspend his or her work performance for a specified number of work days without pay. D. A demotion is a determination that an employee's unacceptable or unsatisfactory behavior of job performance has rendered him or her incapable or undeserving of assuming his or her existing job responsibilities. He or she may then be reassigned to another job or reduced one pay step within the job classification. E. A discharge is a written notification to an employee outlining his or her unacceptable or unsatisfactory behavior or job performance and terminating the existing employment relationship. A discharged employee is expected to fulfill all of his or her employment obligations up to the exact time the discharge is effective, and thus is required to complete all required forms and reports, and return all property issued to him. F. Before the employer issues a suspension, demotion, or discharge, the employee is to be given a personal opportunity to informally present his or her statement about the facts and circumstances of the proposed Employer discipline. The Employer is to notify the employee or IAFF Local 300 representative of the time, date, and place where the hearing is to occur. The Employer's decision to schedule the time and date of the hearing is final. The employee will be considered to have waived his or her opportunity for a hearing if he or she fails to attend the scheduled hearing. The hearing may be rescheduled if the grievant could not attend for legitimate reasons. G. Any form of discipline for any matter may be counted against an employee for determining a greater level of discipline for any subsequent offenses. H. Administering discipline is a management right. Management's decision to administer a certain level of discipline for a given offense is not to be relied on by employees as a binding practice to every similar circumstance. I. Disregarding evidence of discipline from file or other sources: Warning Six (6) months Reprimand One (1) year Demotion Two (2) years Suspension Two (2) years Discharge Permanent The date of previous action will be used as the benchmark for disregarding evidence of prior disciplinary action. The Chillicothe Civil Service Commission is a separate, independent entity under Chapter 124 of the Ohio Revised Code. The Employer will not use, attempt to use or otherwise rely upon such material after the times specified above, nor will the Employer use, attempt to use or otherwise rely upon any other records that might exist where such records relate to matters beyond the times specified above. Section 19.8. The City and the Union agree to adopt the system of Discipline Without Punishment (D.W.P.). D.W.P. may be used in place of or in addition to the current system of progressive discipline and corrective action.